Wake Forest backup quarterback Steele Pizzella’s first career start became historic on Saturday as he amassed 495 combined passing and rushing yards to lead No. 16 Wake Forest to a comfortable 77-0 rout of Merrimack on Saturday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Pizzella started in place of injured starter Gio Lopez, who suffered a knee injury last week. Lopez is believed to be ready to return for the Demon Deacons’ crucial ACC matchup with SMU next Saturday.
The Demon Deacons (8-1, 5-1 ACC) won their sixth in a row, and did not miss a beat with Pizzella behind center as the sophomore completed 23 of 28 passes for 432 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in one half. Pizzella also ran seven times for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Pizzella became the first FBS quarterback this season to pass for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in a half. He was also the first ACC quarterback to pass for 400 or more yards and score four combined touchdowns in his first career start since Deshaun Watson.
It was Wake Forest’s most points in a game since Sept. 21, 1940, when it scored 79 points against William Jewel. It was also the Demon Deacons’ first shutout since Oct. 10, 2015, against Boston College.
FCS-level Merrimack (4-6) fell to 0-5 all-time against FBS opponents.
The Warriors stopped Wake Forest on downs in the red zone on its first drive.
Then, the Demon Deacons scored touchdowns on their next six drives and on seven of the 10 times they had the ball in the first half.
Wake Forest outgained Merrimack 559-90 in total yards in the first half and finished the half with 24 first downs while the Warriors had three. The Demon Deacons finished with 730 total yards, including 546 passing yards.
The Demon Deacons’ 49-0 halftime lead was their largest since 2003.
Quarterback AJ Hairston led Merrimack with 80 yards passing on 11 of 27 attempts, and threw one interception. Austin Palmer totaled five catches for 48 yards.
Rushaun Tongue had an interception for Wake Forest, and Josh Patterson returned an interception of Merrimack backup Cole Meehan 98 yards for a touchdown with 6:08 left in the fourth.
Jack Foley caught six passes for 162 yards and Carlos Hernandez caught two touchdown passes from Pizzella and finished with four catches for 89 yards.
Kam Shanks caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown and returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown with 1:23 left in the third quarter to push Wake Forest’s lead to 63-0.